i was doing the night before christmas for a while and all i could do was get. up. the commercial got me out of it. connell: i remember that. that was good. merry christmas to you and the family. good morning. i am connell mcshane. what is next? stocks are down, but not as much as some had eared. john boehner plan b has been pulled. >> i am interested in solving the major problems that face our country. house leaders, senate leaders and the president will continue to have to work together. >> we are all over it here.

we will figure out where we go from here. let's started off with nicole petallides. she is at the new york stock exchange. nicole: no panic. the nasdaq was down nearly 2%. let's take a look at the dow. the fiscal cliff remains front and center. we heard from john boehner today. we are not seeing bipartisan agreement at all. we are off of the lows of the days. names like bank of america among the biggest losers. while you see a few trying to give it a go in the green, the

truth is, you are seeing broad-based selling. the s&p 500 is down a full percentage point. while there are some select winners, the truth is, you have many affected. connell: thank you very much. you heard a moment ago from the speaker. you did not hear this morning from the mayans. brian wesbury is here and he is his usual optimistic self. you are always relatively optimistic about the economy, but even after last night and what we in washington? >> sure. you know, yes, the fiscal cliff is coming. we have known him for a long time. the dow is still over 13,000. it is not just because the market thinks we have the great deal ever. tax rates will go up.

we will have deficits, as far as the eye can see. by the way, we had pretty darn good news on personal income and spending and durable goods today. the economy is hanging in there, as well. connell: i thought it would be interesting to watch the close, because to me, maybe a deal is more likely after last night because the speaker, if anything, lost his leverage. how do you view that part of it? >> in the end, there is really an infinite number of outcomes. we believeethere is really just about 25% chance that we just go over the cliff unimpeded. the sequestration happens and all of the tax hikes. some kind of deal will probably get done.

if the house were to pass that bill, it could go into law. it would keep dividend and tax rates from going higher. they just cannot reach a deal and at the very last minute, they just can't. connell: that is important. just to reiterate, three out of four, basically, there is a chance that we do not drive over this cliff. that is what you are seeing. really, if you think about it from a perspective of financial markets, i know it does not solve our long-term problems, a punt is not the worst thing. taxes would not shoot way up and you would also not have the big cuts in spending spree that i

actually would like the big cuts in spending. the bigger the government is, the smaller the private sector is. when we cut government spending, that actually allows for more growth. we are at the point where we are wasting so many of our resources because the government is so big. to go back to your point, that is right. it is really important for people to realize that they actually know this in their bones, these things go down to the wire. there are good days and there are bad days. there are all kinds of things that happened. in the end, almost always, we get some kind of deal. connell: what did you make of the idea that the republicans came up with last night, which, essentially, was nothing?

>> this was fascinating. grover norquist was sort of, you know, in a sense, for tax hikes. basically, the tea party rose again. they said, no wait, we will not vote for a tax hike. if the democrats want to do it, they can do it. this is an interesting strategy. i think in the end, this hunting idea might be the one that they go with. they cannot -- they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. the rock is we cannot go over the fiscal cliff. the hard place is it is hard to negotiate. just hold everything where it is for a year. connell: thank you for coming on, as always. brian wesbury. >> merry christmas. connell: you to.

this republican brand looks like it is getting damage. before we talk more about that and the consequences, watch this clip from a republican congressman. he tried to convince fellow republicans to vote in favor of the speakers bill. interesting logic. >> some of my colleagues say this pairing some of these -- a lifeguard who sees ten swimmers drowning off of his speech, if you can only save nine of them, that does not mean he has drowned the tenth one.

connell: okay, john. i am going to put you on hold. we have some breaking news. the breaking news is the nra and the comments coming out right now. let's listen in to this. here it is. >> no sane person can ever possibly comprehend them. they walk among us every single day. does anybody really believe that the next adam lanza isn't planning his attack on a school he has already identified at this very moment? back how many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame? back from a national media machine that rewards them with

wall-to-wall attention and a sense of identity that they crave. they provoke others to try to make their mark. a dozen more killers, a hundred more, how can we possibly even guess how many given our nation's refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill. the fact is this, that would not even begin to address the much larger, more lethal, criminal cross. killers, robbers, rapists, gang members that have spread throughout our communities across the nation. meanwhile, why -- while that

happens, guns have decreased to the lowest levels in a decade. so, now, due to a decline of willingness to prosecute dangerous criminals, violent crime is increasing again. for the first time in 19 years. add another hurricane, terrorist attack, or some other national or man-made disaster and you have a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization. here is another dirty little truth that the media tried their best to conceal. there is a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people.

true, fishes, violent video games with names like "bullet storm," grand theft auto," mortal kombat," and "/ house." and here s one, it is called " kindergarten killers." how come my research staff can find it and all of yours could not or did not want anyone to know you had found it? add another hurricane, add another natural disaster, i mean, we have blood soaked films out there like "american psycho," natural born killers".

8000 music videos, and, you all know this, they portray life as a joke and they portray murder as a way of life. and then they all have the nerve to call it entertainment. is that really what it is? back to that, isn't that the filthiest way. they compete with one another to shock, violate and affect every standard of civilized society. they bring in an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty right into our homes. every minute, every day, every

hour, of every single year. a child growing up in america today witnesses 16,000 murders. 200,000 acts of violence witnessed by the time he or she reaches the age of 18. throughout it all, too many in the national media, their corporate owners, and their stockholders, act as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators. rather than face their own moral failings, the media humanized gunowners. stuart: this is the second protester we have seen at this

event. obviously, being removed from the room. they had a sign being held up. saying that nra kills kids. here we go, let's see what he says. >> resident face their own moral failings. they filled the national media with this information and dishonest thinking. it only delays meaningful action and all but guaranteed the next atrocity is only a news cycle away. the media calls semi automatic firearms machine guns. they claim that these civilian firearms are used by the military. they tell us that the two to

three is one of the most powerful rival calibers, when all of these claims are factually untrue, they do not know what they are talking about. they perpetuate the dangerous notion that one more gun ban or one more law post on lawful people will protect us. many other laws have failed. as well-trained as those police work, when they responded, they were unable, through no fault of their own, unable to stop it. as parents, we do everything we can to keep our children safe. it is now time for us to assume

responsibility for our schools. the only way, the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plant of absolute protection. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away or from a minute away? now, i can imagine the headlines, the shocking headlines you will. tomorrow. more guns, you will claim, are the nra's answer to everything. your implication will be that guns are evil and have no place

in society, much less in our schools. but, since when did the gun automatically become a bad word? a gun in the hand of a secret service agent protecting our president is not a bad word. a gun in the hands of a soldier protecting the united states of america, is not a bad word. and when you hear your glass breaking at 3:00 a.m. and you call 911, you will not be able to pray hard enough for a gun in the hands of a good guy to get there fast enough to protect you. so, why is the idea of a gun would when it is used to protect the president of our country or our police, but bad when it is

used to protect our children in our schools? they are our kids. they are our responsibility. it is not just our duty to protect them, it is our right to protect them. you know, five years ago, after the virginia tech tragedy, when i said, we should put our security in every school, the media called me crazy, but, what if, what if, when adam lanza started shooting his way into sandy hook elementary school, last friday, he had been confronted by a qualified armed security?

would you at least admit, it is possible that 26 little kids, the 26th innocent lives, ttey may have been spared that day. is it so important to you that you would rather continue to risk the alternative? is the press and the political class, here in washington, d.c., so consumed by fear and hatred of the nra and american gunowners that you are willing to accept the world, where real resistance to evil monsters, is alone, unarmed, school principal left to surrender her life to shield the children in her care?

no one, no one, regardless of personal political prejudice has the right to oppose that sacrifice. ladies and gentlemen, there is no national one side fits all solution to protecting our children. but do know this president zeroed out school emergency planning grants and last year's budget and scrapped our school policing grants and next year's budget. with all the foreign aid the united states does, with all the money in the federal budget, can't we afford to put a police officer and every single school? even if they did that, politicians have no business and no authority to nine as the right, the ability and the moral

imperative to protect ourselves. firefighters, security, rescue personnel, and extraordinary core of patriotic trained qualified citizens to join with local school officials and police into providing a protection plan for every single school. we could deploy them to protect our kids now. we can immediately make america schools safer, relying on the brave men and women in america's police force. the budget, and you all know

this, they are strained. the resources are severely limited. but their dedication and courage is second to none. they can be deployed right now. i call upon congress today to act immediately to appropriate what ever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. and to do it now. to make sure that blanket safety is in place when our kids return to school in january. before congress reconvenes, before we engage in any lengthy debate over legislation, regulation, or anything else, as soon as our kids return to school, after the holiday break, we need to have every single school in america immediately to put a protection program, proven to work and, by that, i mean

armed security. right now, today, every school in the united states should plan meetings with parents, school administrators, teachers, local authorities and draw upon every resource they have available. every school will have a different solution based on its own unique situation. every school in america needs to immediately identify, dedicate and employ the resources necessary to put the security forces in place right now. and that national rifle association, as america's trainer of law enforcement and security personnel, for the past 50 years, we have 11,000 police training instructors and the nra. they are ready and willing and

uniquely qualified to help. our training programs are the most advanced in the world. that expertise must be brought to bear, to protect our schools and our children now. we did it for our nations defense industries during world war ii. we did it for very young kids with our child safety program. that is throughout the country in schools right now. we will do it again today. the nra will bring all of its knowledge, all of its dedication and all of its resources to develop a model, national school shield emergency response system for every single school in america that wants it. from our security, to building design and access control, to information and technology to

student and teacher training, this will be developed by the very best experts in the field. former congressman hutchinson will lead the effort. with a budget provided by the nra of whatever scope of the task requires. his experience as united states attorney, director of the drug enforcement agency, and secretary of homeland security, we will give him the knowledge and expertise to hire the most knowledgeable and credential experts that are available in the united states of america to get this program up and running from the first day forward. if we truly cherish our kids, more than our money, more than our celebrities, more than our

sport stadiums, we must give them the greatest level of protection possible. they are properly trained armed good guys. under leadership, we will make this program available for the world. we will make that program available to every single school in america, free of charge. that is a plan of action that can and will take a real positive indisputable difference in the safety of our children and it will start right now. there will be a lot of time for talk and debate later. this is a time, this is a day for decisive action. we cannot wait for the next unspeakable crime to happen before we act.

we cannot lose precious time debating legislation that will not work. we must not allow politics or personal prejudice to divide us. we must act now. for the sake of every child in america. i call on every parent, i call on every teacher, i call on every school administrator, every law enforcement officer in this country to join with us and help create a national school shield safety program to protect our children with the only positive line of defense that is tested and proven to work. now, i will tell you more about the program. i would like to introduce the head of the effort. former u.s. congressman, former u.s. attorney for arkansas, and

former minister of the u.s. drug enforcement agency -- connell: an extraordinary set of statements just made from washington. among other things, the nra would like to arm every school in the nation. that is what he just said. armed guards, armed police officers, as he put it, every single school in the united states following the shootings and newtown, connecticut. he said the only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun. the message that it sends, as he put it, schools are now the safest place to inflict the maximum amount of mayhem.

we have seen statements to match it coming out of washington. that may have been the most dramatic political statement that you will see, or have seen this week. we saw a couple other things during that statement. while we were watching, we saw one protester come in and hold up a sign. while peer had to stop and then he eventually continued. >> the predators of the world know it and exploited. that must change now. the truth is -- connell: right in front of him. nra killing our kids. that is what that sign said. it was a dramatic set of

statements on so many different levels. the sign was taken away. okay. we will talk more about this and so many other things going on in the world as well. let's go to washington right now. let's bring in a democratic member of congress who has been standing by. congressman rick larsen from washington state. we wanted to talk, congressman, about the fiscal cliff and what happened. i guess the money would have to come from congress. what is your reaction to all of that? >> well, theyyre frankly is not money and local school districts for this kind of proposal. the nra proposal, it seems they want to put in money for setting up programs like this.

i do not think thh solution is more guns in our schools. no one is calling my office and my district say more guns in schools. it is just a matter of resourcing. certainly, he was deathly talking about more guns in schools. talking about arming these police officers. is there any support for that? >> well, you know, in the 90s through the department of justice, there was a program to help fund school resource officers in our schools to bring local officers into schools to

help, not just be a protector, but, also, relate to kids and break that barrier down between law enforcement and, especially, in teenagers and that old schoolers. we have tried this before. connell: we had no boat last night. the question i have for you is this, and the president were to cut a deal over the weekend, if that happens, on your side, would you personally vote for anything that the president presents to you? >> i would take a look at it. i would probably vote for it under a couple conditions. is it a balanced approach? is it a long-term deal?

as well, do we have something about the debt ceiling in here. nobody in america want congress to return this issue and you want and it all over again. that is something that democrats and republicans could support. connell: congressman larson, thanks a lot. major snowstorm is another big story today. it has wreaked havoc on the roads and major delays at the airports. that and much more straightahead. ♪

connell: markets now on top of a number of breaking stories. let's go back to nicole

petallides. nicole: we have seen selling across the board. this is the garage. it is being renovated. this is product alli. you can see all read on the screen. there are session lows. this is where we are right now approaching the noon hour. right now down 1.3%. just to give you a feel at how broad-based selloff really is, let's take a look at the screen. all red. many of these are dow components. at&t, wells fargo, exxon, you can see here, behind me, there is a lot of selling on wall street. concerns about washington again. there was so much high hopes that they would get it right. we will talk more about that. thank you.

the politics of gun control are back front and center. we will have senator john kerry nominated by president obama and less than two hours from now. the fiscal cliff is right there as well. that is why we see the market selling off today. let's bring in david kotok. you have been worried about recession, david, right, if we fall off this cliff? >> if we go off the cliff and we stay off the cliff. that does not mean january 1, this goes on to february and march. it is serious. connell: the markets are trying to figure this out also. the selling is picking up. we go down 100 then we come back

to 50. they are trying to figure out what last night that. people are trying to say, well, will he give in now because he does not have the leverage or will he be standing even further saks we don't really even know what is next. >> my basic assumption is, in the end, it resolves and there is a deal. every site has to give. my view is, these periods of weakness like today are buying opportunities because i think the u.s. recovery stays online. interest rates stays low.

the fed policy is in place. this will resolve. it must resolve. if you think it will not resolve, you do not want to own anything. connell: you like it. housing is getting better. there are lots of reasons. >> housing is getting better. a lot of things good. some off the radar screen. the current deficit is half of what it was five years ago. we are having a rising energy patch expansion. it is not just housing. there are a lot of good things happening. incomes gradually rising. connell: david, thank you. one of the key statements we just had, john boehner was not walking away. not walking away. that is important to keep in mind. another thing to keep in mind

will be the weather. the first major snowstorm in the midwest. you have 19 inches in parts of wisconsin. travel will be very difficult. m tobin is standing by at o'hare airport in chicago. >> if you are worried about that big o'hare ripple affect, the warm weather at lake michigan melted all of the snow into rain. no bread on their. no delays. let's cue the rockettes. i thought i would throw these girls in. you have some lines piling up because you have 200,000 people going through o'hare airport right now. in terms of chicago backup, this is nothing. connell: very well done. you should have them follow you around for all of your stories.

mike tobin at o'hare airport. let's bring in janice from the weather center. >> this is my version of the rockettes. not bad, right. merry christmas to you, connell. across the great lakes and theg cold front associated with it bringing a lot of delays to the new york city airports. there are delays. i know mike tobin said there are no delays in chicago, just come to new york, and you will be standing in line. this is a quick mover. we will still see big wind gust. that is what is keeping these flights on the ground. we could get an additional six to 12 inches off the great lakes winter storm advisories. things are going to be a little

treacherous throughout the day today. things will clear up as we head into the weekend. merry christmas to you my friend and to your family. connell: thank you so much. a very festive janice and the weather. >> i am not surprised with him. connell: very creative. we will talk about the president a little bit. his approval rating is actually at the highest level since 2009. it is a really big question here, how does that affect the associations? wayne rogers on that. and then, would you pay to ccntact a stranger on facebook? shibani joshi on that story. before all of that, so more markets for you. here are treasuries to dale.

>> hi, everyone. i have your fox business brief. stocks are sharply lower following a setback. republican house speaker john boehner says he is open to talk to president obama. american consumers have a more pessimistic outlook on the u.s. economy due to concerns over the fiscal cliff. the university of michigan december reading fell to the lowest level since july. dell shares are lower. spun off will be taking off the pc maker spot. s&p says the capitalization of less than $18.5 billion is no lonner representative of the mega cap market space. that is the latest from the fox business network. giving you the power to prosper.

♪

connell: we have wayne rogers and shibani on facebook and all of these things coming up. let's go back to nicole petallides. nicole: we are down almost 190 points here on wall street at this time. this is a loss of nearly 1.5% on the dow jones industrial in the s&p 500. the dow is comprised of that. the s&p down 1.5%. wayne noted in the last shot, you saw that it really is broad-based. it iread across the board from sector to sector. you have down arrows. there is concern about washington. and, of course, it is earning

season. we had research emotion coming out with their numbers. the blackberry maker. with that, that outlook down 17% now for research and emotion. back to you. connell: thank you very much. this is all related to politics today. this market selloff. we have talked so much about the speaker of the house, what about the president? look at his approval rating. does that help him in getting a deal done? wayne rogers is with us. the president is more popular than he has been. what does that mean for him, wayne, do you think. >>president come out of those kd

of disastrous things. they come out more popular. bush after 9/11 was enormously popular. i think that is a temporary thing. it is also an emotional thing. it is not a rational act on whether the president did a good thing or not. connell: the speaker had quite a night last night. and even interesting morning. what you think will happen next. we have been trying to figure it out all morning. >> i do not think it is clear, one of the problems, the republicans on one side and the democrats on the other -- they have had a plan in front of them for a couple of years. they have had a plan -- they

have had a number of opportunities to do something about this. the fact of the matter is, they are holding onto some extreme position. sooner or later, that has to come to a hold. we played a soundbite earlier this hour. we were going to talk about this, but we did not get a chance. this was from a congressman, a republican congressman. he basically used an analogy on the house floor last night thing if you are a lifeguard and there are ten people drowning and you save nine of them, you still saved nine and you did the best you can. if you could prevent taxes on going up on 99%, then that is the best you can do. make the deal.

make the best deal you can. don't be so extreme. >> exactly. the plants have been there for a while. all congress has to do is be rational about it. and so does the president, by the way. he has stuck his feet and the ground and the congress on the other hand have stuck their feet on the ground. it is crazy. they have no reason to support it. every negotiation, everybody has to give and take a little. that is what should be happening. connell: thank you, wayne. you will have to pay up if you want to send a message to a stranger on facebook. that is the story that shibani is covering today. let's take a look at some of the losers. individual names that we are seeing on the nasdaq today. research in motion. down 17%.

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 glk350 for $399 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.

connell: here is one to think about for a second, would you be willing to pay a dollar to have direct contact with somebody you want to reach on facebook? shibani joshi is here to tell us about it. shibani: facebook has a lot of information about its users. one piece of information it does not have enough of is your credit card information. that is exactly this scheme it is trying to test out. one dollar is all it will cost

you to contact people outside of your immediate friend circle. right now, members can only spend messages within people within your friend box. mail from everyone else gets caught in this other box. it would allow strangers to move from the other box to your inbox for four quarters. pretty interesting idea. we will see if it pans out for3 the company. connell: i did not even know that existed. shibani: check it out today. project of the weekend. connell: we will have more of this coverage of the stock market decline. fiscal cliff concerns. we have heard from the speaker of the house already. cheryl and dennis are coming up.

we will continue this busy day on market now. ♪ [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. exutor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you ch any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. now this...will work. [ ale announcer ] just like you, business pro. just like you. go naonal. go like a pro.

neil. cheryl: i am cheryl casone. here is the question. now what? that is the question for wall street and washington. stocks selling off today pushing session lows where the dow is down 159 points. there it is on your screen but not as much as many feared as john boehner's plan b is pulled. dennis: many fearing the cliff is coming and there's not enough time for washington to get a fiscal cliff deal done. cheryl: move as you can make right now to protect your money and protect the portfolio, we had experts coming up. dennis: extraordinary news conference by the nra interrupted by protesters, the

group's chief calling for armed guard in every school in the country. stocks every 15 minutes. nicole petallides is at the stock exchange. nicole: it is red ink. we are watching a market under pressure today, the dow is down 0.1% and major averages down 1%, selling is broadbased whether it is home builders or autos or financials, selling across the board, concerns about the fiscal cliff, the worries so you had planned the which is not accepted, we don't get news forward with that plan and also seeing action moving into the u.s. dollar. the dollar is very strong today. that will pressure these markets. people going to the places that are best of all in a time of worry. you have than nervousness on wall street and that is why you

are seeing down arrows for major averages and financials. cheryl: we will see how the afternoon plays out. we will see you 14 minutes from now. with congress on holiday break america's optimistic that there will be a fiscal cliff deal before the year end deadline. the director of investment strategy with us. i will start with you. they will get a deal, what the use a today? >> our conflict is being tested and john boehner could not even get enough constituents to support his beat plan which we did think over the weekend the move to raise taxes even on millionaires was a move in the right direction. president obama moved to 400,000 and we see there was room for compromise. this derails us a little bit but we are convinced it is a

positive side better deal will be struck if not by the deadline, just after. cheryl: it has to be next week or no deal. >> if they fail to do it is the risk of scenario. cleanup business leaders, enough people recognize the effect of no deal and no near-term deal, we are confident right thing to get done. we have seen this before. it has to be at the last moment. chests of bumping and position of being dug in but our confidence remains -- cheryl: you heard we are going to get a deal, the timing could be a disaster for portfolio managers like yourself who got to advise your clients before the end of the year and end of your tax planning is the major issue for many of them. >> i kind of agree with you but i don't completely. we have been saying for quite some time there would be some sort of hunting of the

situation, a deal that would come in at the 11th-hour just like we have seen before, but that there was not an immaterial chance of a slip up where we didn't have a deal. how do you deal with that as an investor? it is not quite that black and white. investors do not have to decide between owning stocks on one side or cash on the other side. there are a lot of things to buy. there are bonds you can buy to protect you. [talking over each other] cheryl: let me interrupt. some investment ideas for our viewers, we have to know looking at stocks like apple or dividend selling in a stock like apple, looking at companies coming up before the end of the year saying here is the catch before the end of the year, real examples of moves being made before the end of the year. you understand that, right? >> definitely.

this is companies being disciplined and understanding what the possibilities are of things coming in the future. these are moves would don't necessarily change their prospects, their businesses, just like moving across the january 1st deadline, they can change the outcome or the likelihood of outcomes for their shareholders. very disciplined and organized moves. cheryl: they are but also those last-minute moves. many of your clients have coming to your office saying what you going to do? other sectors that could be heard by this fiscal cliff fiasco or sectors you are advising them to buy into. >> the most materially impacted, in a bad way, it's housing, and the debt relief act of 2007 and things that will make it less

enthusiasm for home ownership, housing is one of the great drivers of this recovery and we think the wheat deal and no deal could upset the market and wipe out the gains and momentum. cheryl: housing could be negative. you said there are other positives that come out of this. >> the situation is similar to what we went through with t.a.r.p. and fiscal stimulus package back in 2009-2008. this is timing. there will be a disruption if we hit the fiscal cliff but at the same time regulators and legislators will end up being forced into a position of having to do something to remedy at a later point. to manage that there are ways -- higher risk that, investments in high-quality dividend growth companies that are more stable,

their business prospects are not going to change that much. they will see less fluctuation in this environment. don't hide cash and treasury. cheryl: thanks to both of you. appreciate it. dennis: john boehner insisting he is still keen on solving major problems facing our country, 24 hours after pulling his plan b clip from the house floor. cheryl: the very latest on the fiasco we're calling it today. peter: but the speaker in a press conference this morning put the ball back in the president's and senate democrats's court. she pointed out of the house had passed a bill in may that would avoid the sequester and spending cuts, the senate could take that up. the house had passed a bill that would extend all of the bush tax cuts passed back in august, the senate could take that up but

whenever the senate decides to do it and send something back, includes significant spending cuts and tax reform, the speaker candidly didn't sound confident on how to do that. >> many of us believe on both sides of the aisle that fundamental reform of our tax code will help us get the economy moving faster and put more americans back to work, and more americans -- how we get there domino's. all i am doing is the team here are committed to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both sides of the capital and the white house to address that. peter: the white house putting out a speaker after the speaker pool plan b that the president will work with congress to get this done. dennis: thank you, peter barnes. the question is whether john boehner came to speak for his own party anymore. a humiliating defeat for john

boehner, losses are not much more epic than this one, so says the chief political strategist for potomac research group who joins us by phone. can john boehner recover? is there still time for a deal before year end? >> he is personally very popular. people in both parties like the guy, but he has a problem. he cannot control his troops. there are some republicans who would not raise taxes on billionaires', they just will not raise taxes. dennis: they just won't. republicans who are against plan b because they did not want to raise taxes even on earnings over a million are they betting that we go off of the cliff, we can fix it weeks later, are they betting they can win this? >> i can't see how they could win it. if you really want deficit reduction, this might be a way to do it but in the meantime

they are hurting the brenda. of the republican brand will suffer greatly. dennis: with john boehner having been humiliated by the most conservative members of his own party last night he goes to the white house, if i'm in the white house don't i have doubts that john boehner truly can deliier? >> you sure do. i think the new equations is going to be the only way we get something is ironically john boehner having to deal with nancy pelosi. how is that for strange bedfellows? if john boehner could bring 70 of his republicans to the dance with all of the -- dennis: i think nancy pelosi and john boehner strange bedfellows, thank you for being with us. good luck in washington. cheryl: all right, markets now obviously watching these markets they are down 166 on

washington's fiscal cliff stalemate but charles payne, that is not charles payne. charles payne is going to be here. he says don't panic. dennis: a lot of worries today. a white christmas not making it easy for millions of travelers as airport delays pile up. we are live at chicago's o'hare. so glad i am not traveling this christmas. cheryl: as we do every day this time we look at the metal, gold, silver and copper moving hire.

dennis: time to make money with charles payne. he is telling investors to follow the advice in the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, don't panic. charles: as rod stewart would say. we have a couple things we are thinking about. two things, remember the debt ceiling debacle but also remember t.a.r.p.. think about this. with t.a.r.p. we collapsed from 10,000 to 600 on the dow. we had a temporary pullback with respect to the debt ceiling. if you monthly traded sideways after falling off. whatever ridge we have right now at this point would be more akin to that than the t.a.r.p. situation and what worries me is the market is so emotionally driven as is, people who normally are not trading in and out will be side this and all of

a sudden because this is maybe not happening january 1st people will stop eating cheerios. that is -- cheryl: you are saying when stocks go down you don't want to sellout then because you are losing money but that is what retail investors always make that mistake. all of them are 15%. now i am going to buy. charles: when the dow goes to 15,000, everyone will be a new york city cab driver finding a market they like. there is another group of people who are stuck in the middle and if you are holding the stock for a long time don't bail on them. make sure there's a reason. dennis: thank you very much. good words on a day like this. cheryl: 15 past the hour, stocks every 15 minutes, no real panic on wall street but maybe they're taking charles's advice, the dow is down 174 closed session lows.

phil flynn in the trading pits of the cme watching oil. nicole petallides on the floor of the stock exchange. nicole: i don't think investors should panic. the market, many times, headline driven and psychology of the market, when people appealing good, a growing economy under way, people are shopping and spending and you see the market turning up and moving up but today as a different picture. you saw collapse in washington, they are having their meeting of the mines and can't seem to solve the fiscal cliff issue and as a result that weighs on this market. the nasdaq composite, tech stocks are getting hit hard, down 1.5%. research in motion down 17%. apple, ebay, hewlett-packard all under pressure, financials with many down arrows. let's look at what is going on in chicago.

phil flynn. jeff: if you look at today, you would think oil should be higher end of we were higher than we were worried about going over the cliff and oil prices have been down but there's more going on in the oil market than concerned about the cliff. part of is a report from the american petroleum institute showing total petroleum demand in the united states and a 17 year low last month in the month of november. not only that but the drop in distillate demand is off of a map at 6.3%. the reason for the drop is concerns about the economy. the economy, we are only consuming 18.5 million barrels a day, almost unheard of. i save is partly hurricane sandy but the combination is taking a big toll on energy demand. dennis: thank you. as fiscal cliff plan b goes down, coming up, a republican

who voted against the john boehner plan. where we go from here. cheryl: we are going to wrap up our week-long stocking up series with a look at credit card stocks, retail companies all weekend we end with the cards. as we go to break look at how the world currencies are faring against the u.s. dollar. you can never discount europe. we will see how the euro is doing, we will be right back. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he'slimbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things,

like what the market is doing and being ready, nmatter what ppens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps block stomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. t fast, long lasting gaviscon®.

>> 22 minutes past the hour your fox news minute. president obama will nominate massachusetts senator john kerry has his pick for secretary of state. the president is scheduled to make an announcement at o cf1 o 1:30 p.m. eastern time. confirmed the loss 7 democrat will replace outgoing secretary of state hillary clinton. the nomination marked the president's first move in an administration over all in his second term. 26 bells ring in newtown, conn. in memory of 26 lives lost a week ago today at sandy hook elementary school. connecticut governor daniel malloy leading a moment of silence as tomorrow held all over the country including at the national cathedral in

washington. a funeral being held at the national cathedral for the late senator daniel inouye. leaders from the house and senate on hand to remember the second largest serving senator in u.s. history. he died monday, he was 88 years old. those are your headlines. dennis: thank you. the biggest names in financial services and credit cards having a bad day, our next guest says not to worry because credit cards have legs. we are joined by chris from stifle nicholas. yesterday you upgraded discover and you also like mastercard and visa. >> i do. discover had a pretty interesting quarter, stocks sold off pretty harder and miss the earnings number but beneath the surface signs that growth is picking up, and a little over 6% spending growth and gaining a lot of share in what appears to

be a strong credit card market. dennis: always considered discover a laggard. doesn't have as big a brand-name as your mastercard and visas of the world. does that play into a higher stock price with a better known brand like visa and mastercard? >> you will see these and mastercard freighted with better valuation in the high teens where discoverer's eight times, different business as you mentioned, dominating payment industry, discover has a great niche in the u.s. gaining a lot of share but you can't compete with visa and mastercard on global spending growth. dennis: one thing that could undercut those is a paypal like system on the internet but visa and mastercard have moved in and taken over the internet currency as well. haven't they? >> it is very difficult to compete, the new players, if your provider like google or

paypal or cellphone companies, you can't make consumers pay when they don't want to pay. they will use the cards, you can't change that relationship with their banks so they will want to use visa and mastercard, they rolex checking cards, even visa's wallace is launching this quarter accepting all cards, mastercard and american express. the companies understand consumers have to be able to pay what they want to pay ended is difficult even for companies like ebay and paypal to break in. paypal is giving up on partnering with discover. dennis: mastercard, visa, what could go wrong? during the meltdown of 2008 we saw default rates soar, they have been declining quite a bit. >> credit has been outstanding. what we worry about most since they don't take credit risk is government intervention. the competitive forces favor of

these and mastercard to gain share globally and the only thing to worry about is the government changing the rules like they did two years ago with dodd-frank and regulated change and stock got crushed and they're bound -- dennis: even if you change the rules they will survive that too. cheryl: with the fiscal cliff, plan b from john boehner going down in defeat in the house we have a republican who came out against john boehner's plan. what does he see negative to get? dennis: a man who could be the next governor of california pushing to legalize recreational use of pot. cheryl: as we go to break with it today's s&p winners and you have a nike, big lots, we will be right back.

cheryl: 30 past the hour and stocks every 15 minutes with nicole petallides. volume of the of the surprise today, billion shares traded by noon. nicole: what we see in volume, you have a rebalancing at the end of the day of the s&p so some of those types of things that are really just right here on wall street don't bother the investors at home. that is why you see heavy volume and there is heavy volume but what we are seeing is a trend and the trend, market today is worried about washington. as you are seeing all the major averages are lower,-1/3%, a

ticketing nasdaq 1-1/2% people flocking to the save haven of u.s. dollar and save haven of gold. gold is up $10 today. let's look at walgreen's which is down 4% at the moment so walgreen's continues to struggle. the express scripts, that part of it, quarterly numbers have been dropping, same-store sales of not been too stellar. stock is down $1.56, up $35.99. dennis: thank you. fiscal cliff fears gripping washington as republicans revolt against john boehner's plan b and one of them joins us now but before we get to that we heard the last hour the head of the and are a calling for an armed guard at every school in the country. >> with all the foreign aid the united states does, with all the money in the federal budget, can't we afford to put a police officer in every single school?

even if they did that politicians have no business and no authority denying us the right, the ability and the moral imperative to protect ourselves. dennis: joining us now, congressman make small veiny of south carolina, a republican, the nra endorsed you when you ran for congress in 2010 and said after the shooting we want to make a meaningful contribution to preventing a tragedy like this from ever happening again. what do you think about the approach the nra took today? >> i saw the press conference and what mr. lapierre said, it was very provocative. what he said is we have armed guards at airports and armed guards in businesses and right behind me downstairs in the office building where i work but we don't have them in schools. is that the answer? i don't know but it was a valid point and you're seeing the beginning of a dialogue a lot of

folks are willing to have. dennis: that didn't sound like dialogue. he was blaming the media for violent video games, you personally after the connecticut shooting, would you still oppose if you do oppose an outright ban on assault weapons back and fired dozens of bullets in a matter of seconds? >> to i oppose an outright ban? absolutely. we need to talk about -- step he didn't show in the clip, what he talked about was the impact on the culture of the impact in the culture of videogames and the impact on the culture of broken homes and mental health. lot of folks are willing to talk about those things who were not a couple weeks ago and that is a positive move. dennis: doesn't sound like to some people there has been any change in the debate points at all. let's go to the cliffs. you voted against the john boehner plan b and that was courageous because it doesn't it make the republicans look awfully bad that they came out and voted against tax increases on earnings over $1 million and now we will go off of the cliff

because of that? >> we didn't get a chance to vote against it but i would have voted against it if we had the opportunity. i think what everyone is assuming, what you assume with your question is if we had passed that bill last night it would have become the law. waiting for everybody to ask would the senate have taken it up with the president, a lot of what we hear publicly and privately is the senate was never going to take that. it would not have solved the problem. i happen to believe president wants to go over the cliff and that is where we're going. dennis: are the conservatives who didn't want to vote in favor of plan be giving the president what he wants and allowing us to go over the cliff? >> there's no way to prevent the president from doing what he wants to do. he holds all cards in this discussion. the senate has done nothing since the election. my guess is if we had passed last night planned it did $250,000 and up they would have found fault with that as well. the president gets higher taxes and dramatic military spending reductions, i don't know why

people think that fairly left leaning democrat president wouldn't see those as a good thing. we will go over the cliff and the president is going to see if he gets blamed or not. if he does we will see some moves. if he doesn't we stay over the cliff for a long time. dennis: republicans the won't cave even as polls show their backing the president and republicans are wrong? guys will hold to it and refuse to raise any taxes anywhere? >> how do you negotiate with someone who doesn't want to negotiate? you are assuming the president wants the deal and i am challenging the basis of that assumption. he has shown nothing. his first offer was 1 million -- 1 trillion dollars in increased taxes with no spending reductions. if i come see you and you are trying to sell your home and i offer you $1 these think i am a serious negotiator? that is what the president has been doing from the beginning and everyone seems to assume he wants the deal. i am not there yet. dennis: if he doesn't want to deal haven't you played right into his hands by making sure he doesn't get a deal?

>> we have something else the next day they find fault with it. all we're doing is negotiating with ourselves and against ourselves. we have not seen a specific offer from the white house or a specific offer from the senate. we hear they offered a deal, we have not seen any of these things. i am tired of negotiating with myself and see it myself and my friends in the republican party asked to take difficult votes that don't actually solve the problem. we have done it before. there are folks in the caucus who voted to raise the debt ceiling but we did it because we thought it could solve the problem. dennis: even negotiating with your cell doesn't seem to be going well. thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. the day. cheryl: time for west coast minute. good news for california. state unemployment rate dipping below 10% for the first time in four years facing double-digit jobless rate since the recession. the latest figure of 9.8% unemployment in november, signaling california's economy has turned the corner.

the downside 400,000 californians face a loss of unemployment benefits. if no deal, the fiscal clef, can't get away from. legalizing marijuana on the horizon. in an interview with the new york times, lt. governor news and has set out in terms of legalizing marijuana, quote, these laws don't make sense anymore. shares of las vegas based casino operators pinnacle entertainment and an aerostar entertainment jumping under $869 million offer to buy its gambling rival. the deal has been given the go-ahead by the boards of both companies but needs shareholder regulatory approval. there are your stocks and that is your west coast minute. dennis: elsewhere some players of should the mob video games calling for a cease-fire today to respect victims of the connecticut shootings while the head of the nra points the finger. cheryl: the best performing sectors over the last three years, commercial real estate

deals still on the rise. we will tell you how and if there's still time to get in. dennis: look at the ten year ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event is back, with the perfect vehicle that's just rig for you, no matter which list you're on. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 c250 for $349 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.

>> bling the taxable from the house floor last night. aviation business a belief, for $4.3 billion. he expects the move to improve

its global supply chain to rising engine production costs and three days until christmas, time for the holiday shopping, advisers, shoppers expected to spend $34 million. according to consumer reports 1 thirty three million people haven't finished their shopping yet. seventeen million people will be shopping on christmas eve, myself included. that is the latest from the fox business network giving you the power to prosper.

cheryl: we are pushing session lows. a lot could happen between now and 4:00 eastern time. 1 79.2 to the downside, a lot of fiscal cliff concerns, many marketmakers worried congress will not get a deal done by that deadline. we will watch the market sell-off for you. dennis: fallout from the carnage in connecticut. some video gamers calling for a

cease-fire laying of mines and games for 12 hours today, a group known as gamer gift nation pushing this idea, 3,000 gamers have signed up so far. in newtown, conn. a 13-year-old boy is mounting his own campaign to get kids to stop playing violent games entirely. he hopes to organize a game buyback. in hollywood, a personal stake in this, conn. former u.s. senator christopher dodd who left the senate in 2010 and now chairman of the motion pictures association of america and contacted the white house to see people of hollywood, quote, want to do our part to help americans he'll. we stand ready to be part of the national conversation. cheryl: one of the best performing sectors are commercial real-estate, yields on the rise and price waterhouse coopers really bullish on the sector and joining me with details from a new survey

published, thank you for being here, commercial real-estate on the uptick for three years. some are worried the shine will come off next year. >> i don't think so. yields which have compressed in commercial real estate is a function of supply and demand and capital going into the asset class. if you look at the asset class one of the things you realize coming out of the recession how durable it is. the volatility in returns on real-estate are less than they are. cheryl: is that solid play in an apartment or shopping malls or retirement homes? where do you think the best route is? >> apartments and coming out of the recession were the saber. the interesting thing in the survey, we just published, we have been doing this for 26 years, we have a lot of time to look at it. retail and asset class, everybody thought left for dead and yields in real-estate retail real-estate compressing just like the rest. cheryl: we should a map of the

boomer demographic because they will be cutting in to those old folks homes and let me ask about this. seems like retailers coming back, it seems a lot of those strip malls are starting to fill up once again, even hit capacity. will that continue next year? >> there is oversupply retail what is interesting is rands have variable component and as sales go up rents billups so if you look at the elasticity of the return potential i think investors are betting that as the economy improves retail real estate will be more valuable cheryl: out at malls. one thing we have seen in the shopping season has been out what malls where the spending has happened. on the other side of the investment play, stocks would be the outlet mall companies that run those outlet malls. >> investors love value, shoppers loved value, i think the outlet malls that are doing well is the value play. as long as those stores have products they will raise up.

cheryl: look at the dow jones, it is up 14.5% right now at this point for the last year. that is a strong return. many are wondering if i buy into this now am i still going to get this next year? >> investors -- one thing we have observed over time is cash flow investment classes do better over time especially in volatile times than non cash flowing asset classes. that is validated with returns on reits. not only did they go up from a television perspective but you get cash flow along the way and -- [talking over each other] cheryl: talk about dividends and investment. >> one thing you can count on the. cheryl: interesting survey. happy holidays for you. dennis: every 15 minutes we have stocks, market's near session lows. nicole: a lot going on today.

we have very heavy volume, futures expiration, s&p rebalancing the indices, heavy volume, markets selling of. concerns about washington and whether they will come to agreement and the s&p 500 down 1.3% and selling across the board, the u.s. dollar, most of the sectors, financials dropped, everything is lower across the board. obviously we heard from the nra in their press conference. let's look at some gunmakers, smith and wesson, the name is doing extremely well because guns were records amount of sales they of been seeing that now under intense scrutiny after what happened in newtown, connecticut. when you look at this you see the mover down 1-1/4% and down for the week, down for the week

in response to those 26 death. this is what we are facing today but these two names have been performers for the year. cheryl: thank you, dow down 166. we will see you at the top of the hour. are you going to have a white christmas? major snow storm is blanketing the midwest. an update on what you can expect this weekend, busiest travel day of the year. dennis: how is this weather hampering that they? we will be live through chicago at o'hare next. cheryl: take a look at today's losers over on the nasdaq obsessed with travel as i try to get on an airplane later. we will be right back. i always wait until the last minute.

can i still ship a gift in time r chrisas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. hey, travis... get some friends, loser!

you alright, man? ♪ lean on me, thanks. ♪ when you're not strong... ♪

cheryl: the midwest is shoveling out as the first major snowstorm of the season now there. dennis: joining us with the latest on the fox news weather center, rik. >> especially across the midwest where the drought has been going on they need snow. snow helps the drought that moisture saturates to the ground and the farmers are happy and these are the snow fall totals you are talking about. parts of iowa, minnesota, a foot and a half, wisconsin towards 20 inches. great news ultimately but rough

for people getting where they need to o. the storm winding down. rain across new england but winds not moving across the lakes. and little more snow and we will talk about lake effect snow all weekend in buffalo forge rochester and maybe cleveland. they will continue to see the lake effect snow. we still have all kinds of winter storm watches and warnings. that will continue all weekend long until the lakes freeze over but the other story is not just this storm across the west, a series of storms lined up. we saw this a couple weeks ago when we had 20 inches of rain and all kinds of flooding across northern california. take a look where the storm track is going, continuing towards northern california once again. we will see some spots here, maybe ten inches of rain over that next four to five days the higher elevations will be snow. rainfall totals, maybe 8 inches and then that will transition into maybe 6 feet of snow toward the mountains around lake tahoe and that is good news for the

businesses out there and a good >> in and they're getting it to start. cheryl: the long-term forecast over the next few days, today the busiest travel day of the year. all those cancellations in chicago, are you feeling more optimistic today that travel will not be as snared up as we were first concerned about? >> we have the backlog from what happened yesterday and went across the great lakes and the wind will cause some destruction as well but the next few days are looking fine except for the matter across northern california. that won't cause travel problems. next storm looks like tuesday which is christmas day. hopefully people are not traveling as much on christmas day. cheryl: they are traveling the day after. this will be so much fun. thank you, sir. dennis: makes you wonder why anyone ever dreamed of a white christmas. doctor's appointments are shifting out of the office and into your living room.

physicians increasingly seeing patients by web cam, health insurers and employers include the remote visits in their benefits. the web appointments which most commonly treat acute problems like sign is infections and pink eye available around:00 saving patients from getting hit with costly trips to the emergency room. patients have a co-pay just like an in office visit but if you're going to emergency room for pink eye that is one reason we have a health crisis in this country. cheryl: can i say something before we go to break? this is interesting. because the next investment opportunity could be those clinics. they are popping up in texas and new york and walgreen's and things like that. those are so popular. people don't want to go to the doctor any more. so if you think of those, they should go public. we should invest in some. a little private equity deal. dennis: don't have to go to those clinics. elsewhere president obama

expected to speak on -- in half an hour. nominating senator john kerry for secretary of state but might also return serve on the fiscal collect. melissa frances will have his comments live coming up next.

dennis: wall street that it do more than washington. they thought we would be sure to reach a compromise before the fiscal cliff. cheryl: if you were near a computer screen last night, neil cavuto was talking about this. the future is really tumbled. unfortunately, washington is ruling wall street. melissa: i do not know why they had so much faith. there you go. thank you. i am melissa